Understanding History and Society through Images, 1776-1914

Strategies

Students will be familiar with the SOAPSTONE model. ⁴⁶ This also will have been covered since week two as we do a lot of primary sources. This can be used for analysis of any object. The others that follow are ones I also utilize in class.

• S = Subject of the piece?
• O= Occasion, time, place, setting?
• A=Audience, who is this directed to?
• P=Purpose, why was this piece written, painted, etc.?
• S=Speaker, who's voice is telling the story?
• TONE=Attitude or emotional characteristics of the piece?

AP (Advanced Placement) classes in high school use this extensively and many middle schools adopted this practice several years ago in order to familiarize kids with this early so that there are no surprises for them in high school. There are also several more writing components to this Document Based Question format that help with the interpretation piece. It is a great asset for the kids to have this foundation when evaluating and interpreting primary sources. For this unit, combining the novel with primary sources, and verifiable facts should bring about a well-rounded decision when assessing the historical accuracy of the novel. The writing pieces in this AP-DBQ element are also a part of the Common Core and Essential Standards in North Carolina.

• Artifact analysis worksheet

http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/worksheets/cartoon_analysis_worksheet.pdf

• Art analysis worksheet

http://www.scribd.com/doc/64234821/Art-Analysis-Worksheet

• Using primary sources in general

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/

• The Advanced Placement Teacher's Guide is also one that I will use

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/repository/ap_arthistory_teachers_guide.pdf

Another strategy I liked was the diamond fold from YNI fellow Andrea Kulas. The folding process creates a diamond in the center of the paper with four triangles off to the sides. The diamond is synthesis and the four triangles historical events, personal connections, or solutions to problems that the characters encounter. Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading by Kylene Beers and Robert Probst have some excellent activities for students to do as they read their novels. ⁴⁷ The Signposts include:

• Contrasts and contradictions - why does character act this way.
• Aha Moment – why might a character's insight reveal something important about plot
• Tough Questions – not all questions have an easy answer
• Words of the Wiser – an older or wiser character shares their wisdom or experience hoping to guide the protagonist through a difficult decision
• Again and Again – words or phrases repeated
• Memory Moment – memory interrupts the flow but reveals important things

Each signpost has its own worksheet that can be freely used by teachers. This process is used in the Language Arts classrooms and I think students will be able to do the same activities in my room.

Activities

I will be merging two sets of separate activities together as a culmination of this curriculum unit. The first segment that I want to address with the unit is how my students are going to interpret painting, prints, political cartoons, household items, and any other objects considered a primary source. I would like to begin the first day with the SOAPSTONE format. This has been developed for middle and high school students. A higher level of the SOAPSTONE method is APPARTS and PERSIA, just a few more details such as economics. I have included countless paintings, cartoons, and ordinary household objects in my Content Background section. This unit is meant to be taught mid-September (colonization) to late October (end of Revolutionary War). I want students to feel confident in their analysis of primary sources and I will begin the first day of school in August with the first two pieces and then move on through the rest of this list as the unit progresses:

• Francesco Furini Artemisia Prepares to Drink the Ashes of her Husband, Mausolus (1630, YUAG) "Old" but this could be in a fashion magazine today and I think this can draw the students in when they look at the details.
• Quenten Metsys A Bagpiper (1513, YUAG) Paired with the above art piece, a jovial big man and his musical instrument.
• Frans Hals A Pair of Portraits of an Elderly Couple Heer and Mevrouw Bodolphe (1643, YUAG) An example of people who may have come from Holland to the colonies.
• Simon Verelst Mary of Modena (1680, BAC) Their fate as Catholics exemplifies religious fervor of the time and explains why so many sought religious freedom here.
• Hogarth William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington (1741, BAC) Fashion of the wealthy Englishman
• Joseph Highmore Henry Wyndham (1743, YUAG) Contrasting light and richness of fabric
• Samuel Scott Vice Admiral Sir George Anson's Victory off Cape Finistere (1749, BAC) British and French naval engagement, always at war with one another.
• Richard Wright The Fishery (1764, BAC) Also a reminder of the use of ships as prisons for Patriot captives.
• Joseph Richardson Coffeepot (1765-80, YUAG) Beautiful work on silver pot
• Joseph Smith Tea Caddy Made for Esther Smith (1767, YUAG) American example of earthenware
• Sir Joshua Reynolds Mrs. Abington as Miss Prue in Love for Love by William Congreve (1771, BAC) One of the novel's characters in Chains reminds me of her
• Sir Joshua Reynolds Sarah Campbell (1777-78, BAC) Richness of the fabric
• Benjamin West The Artist and his Family (1772, BAC) Expat West and his family in England, including his Quaker father. Reminder of importance of Quakers in America during abolitionist movement.
• Johan Joseph Zoffany The Drummond Family (1769, BAC) A Scotsman and his family. Drummond was a banker and later members of family served as pursers
• John Nost, The Younger Bust of George III (1764, BAC)
• Sir Joshua Reynolds Charles Stanhope, 3 ^rd Earl of Harrington (1782, BAC) Involved in disaster at Saratoga, interestingly dressed in medieval armor
• James Ward Man Struggling with a Boa Constrictor, Study for "Liboya Serpent Seizing its Prey (1803, BAC) Struggle for survival and YNI fellow pointed out the imagery of the snake as whip

Activity 1: Each student will have one of the artifact, cartoon and art analysis sheets listed in the strategies section above. They will glue it into their interactive notebooks. These notebooks contain all their work done as class and homework for the year (except larger projects). Once the main analysis sheet is glued in they can answer the questions from the sheet on later pages in their notebooks. The pieces will be analyzed by era, type of piece, etc. following the art analysis sheets. Depending on what the art work is – painting, cartoon, 3D object – we will look at why created, the use of race, role, class, and gender in the piece, surrounding historical significance, functionality, color, lighting, and style.

Activity 2: I will put students into groups on a rotating basis and have them recreate the art work in a "skit," similar to the Yinka Shonibare photographs. Every third piece we do I will allow the students to pick their groups. They will analyze the original, research artist and background of art piece, and then create their own montage. I will have students with smartphones load the 123d catch app onto their phones. I know that the use of this app will require some practice and I think I will make it a homework assignment for the first few days of school. They can practice at home and then we can utilize it in the class. This is a sharing activity, especially for those who do not have a smartphone. If our iPads are available, we will be allowed to load them onto those. Once students have mastered the app we can start using it. The pictures of an object are taken (about 15 to 20 of an object from all angles) and then the app turns the pictures into a 3D object. The process can take up to an hour.

Activity 3: Students will pick the novel they want to read after some research and book reviews they will check out. This will be done the second week of school. About 80% of reading will be conducted at home, with a daily ten minutes in class three times a week. I own 200 copies of My Brother Sam is Dead and a few of the others. Parents can purchase Chains, Forge, or Year of the Hangman in hardcopy or Kindle/Nook format. Parents have been generous in the past and purchased copies of books for those who cannot afford to make the purchase. We will discuss race, gender, roles, and the meaning of loyalty. Many of the paintings and primary sources that I will be utilizing will serve as discussion points along with the reading of the novel. Activities within the novel unit: 1. Students will do the Signposts mentioned in Strategies. We will do this in groups on a weekly basis. This will help ensure that students are reading their books. Students will be given a chapter range to complete each week. 2. They will then produce a diamond fold analysis artifact mentioned in Strategies and they will do this individually. They will address significance of historical events, personal connections they make with the young narrator, solutions to problems their characters encounter, the tastes/scents/sounds within the novel, and the center diamond will address different types of conflict their characters encounter. 3. The final product I have in mind is an accordion book called a snail. Paper size for this is usually 18" by 24". Directions for this can be located on http://alexandraedwards.cmswiki.wikispaces.net/ Students will respond with writing and drawing to the following prompts in the booklet:

• Historical setting and causes of war
• Major characters
• Synopsis
• Explain the significance of loyalty to family, slaveholder, country/military, and king
• How do the viewpoints of the war differ between the major characters
• What is loyalty in the context of this book
• Give detailed examples of man v man, man v nature, and man v self conflicts in novel
• What is the big aha moment in the novel and how does it play out
• If the characters had a choice, what would they have done differently
• Illustrate the two most important scenes from the novel and tell me why important
• Design an advertisement to sell this book to your classmates